Manual-1
PE 17
PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER
OPERATORS MANUAL
QUICK START
Those who choose not to read this modest informational snippet (intended to ward off one of life’s embarrassing
moments) are those who wish to hasten the point at which their entire sound system locks up, screams unmercifully,
shatters windows, causes dogs to howl, babies to cry, and melts all the compression drives, dripping molten titanium all
over the hand-polished walnut decor. Pity.
There are only a few things to check when using a PE 17. Always set both GAIN controls as close to the top of the
panel as possible without causing the OL LED to light constantly. Use the CUT FILTERS to tailor the bandwidth for each
application. Always double check that each FREQx multiplier switch (located beneath each FREQ control) is set to the
correct position. Great surprises result from false settings.
For extra-deep notching applications, use Bands 3 and 4 and set them exactly the same. Notches as deep as 30 dB are
possible, since Bands 3 and 4 are in series while most other bands are in parallel (see the Block Diagram in the Specifica-
tions Section).
Hook-up is simple. The PE 17 accepts all combinations of balanced or unbalanced, XLR or ¼" connectors. However,
the INPUT connectors are wired in parallel and may not be used together. Use only one at a time. They will not function as
a summing type of input for two different sources, but they may be used in a daisy chain fashion to feed other units. On the
other hand (to randomly pick a hackneyed expression), you may use the paralleled Outputs to drive two destinations.
Never connect anything except a Rane approved AC power supply to the thing that looks like a red telephone jack on
the rear of the PE 17.
WEAR PARTS: This product contains no wear parts.
Manual-2
FRONT PANEL DESCRIPTION
OVERLOAD indicator: This red LED illuminates whenever the signal level at any of five critical nodes comes within 3-4
dB of clipping.
Overall BYPASS switch & indicator: Engaging this pushbutton energizes the Bypass relay. This provides a complete
hard-wire Bypass of the PE 17 with no active electronics in the signal path. A red LED indicates the unit is in the BYPASS
mode. In the out (LED off) position, the Input is routed through the active electronics. The Bypass relay is wired such that
upon power failure it reverts to the BYPASS condition, thus providing a “fail-safe” feature.
IN & OUT GAIN controls: set the relative IN and OUT gain structures. The range of each is ±12 dB; however, note that
the labeling is opposite to each other, e.g., the top of the IN control reads +12 dB while the top of the OUT control reads -12
dB. Configured this way, whenever they are held and moved together the overall gain through the PE 17 stays at unity.
Positioning these controls (together) as far toward the top of the panel as possible (without lighting the OL indicator) yields
the best signal-to-noise performance.
LOW & HIGH CUT FILTER controls: set the corner frequencies of the band limiting filters. The frequencies shown
represent the -3 dB points for each filter. When the sliders are located at their bottom-most positions, the filters are at their
lowest and highest extremes and thus, effectively bypassed.
FILTER LEVEL control: The center detent position guarantees flat response through the respective filter due to its
grounded center-tap design. Full clockwise rotation yields 12 dB of boost, while full counterclockwise rotation gives you
15 dB of cut.
FREQUENCY MULTIPLIER switch: The markings on this three position slide switch indicate the factor by which the
calibrations of the Frequency Sweep control (7) are multiplied. For instance, if the range switch is in the “x0.1” position and
the FREQ knob is at “460,” then the actual center frequency of the filter is 46 Hz. Operation of this switch in conjunction
with the FREQ control yields a range of 10 Hz to 20 kHz for each band.
FREQUENCY sweep control: increases the center Frequency of the filter band as it is turned clockwise. It is calibrated
from “100” to “2k.” The exact Frequency is determined by multiplying the value indicated by the Frequency Range switch
(6) setting.
Individual band BYPASS switch & indicator: Each of the five filter BYPASS switches disables the respective filter,
providing instant comparison between flat response and equalized response. The red LED illuminates when the band is in
the BYPASS mode.
BANDWIDTH control (Q): Full counterclockwise rotation yields a Bandwidth of 1/30 octave (Q=43) in the respective
filter, while full clockwise rotation gives a 2.0 octave (Q=0.67) Bandwidth.
POWER indicator: When this yellow LED is lit, the unit is ready to command.
Manual-3
REAR PANEL DESCRIPTION
CHASSIS GROUNDING
After hooking up your system, if it exhibits excessive hum or buzzing, an incompatibility in the grounding configuration
between units exits. Ha! Now you earn your money. Now you pay the piper. Now you must discover how your particular
system wants to be grounded! Here are some things to try:
Always use balanced interconnection methods—but, when you can’t:
Try combinations of lifting grounds on units supplied with ground-lift switches or jumpers.
If your equipment is in a rack, verify that all chassis are tied to a good earth ground, either through the line cord ground-
ing pin or the rack screws to another grounded chassis.
Units with outboard power supplies, like the PE 17, do NOT ground the chassis through the line cord. Make sure this unit
is grounded either to another chassis which is earth grounded (like the power amplifier), or directly to the grounding screw on
an AC outlet cover by means of a wire connected to the chassis grounding screw found on the rear to guarantee proper
contact.
XLR & ¼" TRS INPUT jacks: Choose between one of these inputs. The ¼" TRS Input is a differentially active balanced,
auto unbalanced ¼" INPUT connector; tip = positive, ring = negative, and sleeve = chassis ground. For unbalanced opera-
tion, use only a standard mono (single conductor )tip-sleeve (no ring) plug. The balanced XLR INPUT connector is wired:
pin 1 chassis ground, pin 2 positive, and pin 3 negative. These Inputs parallel each other and may be used for daisy chaining
purposes, but do not use to sum two Inputs together.
XLR & ¼" OUTPUT jacks: These jacks are active balanced Ouputs. The ¼" TRS tip is signal positive, the ring is signal
negative and the sleeve is chassis ground. The 3-pin wiring is per IEC/ANSI/AES standards: pin 1 signal ground, pin 2
positive, and pin 3 negative. These jacks parallel each other and unlike the Input, may deliver two Ouputs simultaneously.
PATCH I/O connector: This ¼" TRS jack provides an unbalanced I (Input) on its tip and an unbalanced O (Output) on its
ring. This is designed for use with tip=send/ring=return effect loops found on many mixing consoles, providing an easy
means for patching the unit into effect loops using only a single ¼" TRS (2-conductor) patch cable. Caution: Use either the
PATCH I/O or the INPUT and OUTPUT connectors — do not use both. These are not summing Inputs.
Remote power supply input: This unit is supplied from the factory with a Model RS 1 Remote AC Power Supply suitable
for connection to this jack. This unit requires an 18 volt AC center-tapped transformer only. This is not a telephone jack.
Never use a power supply other than the one supplied or a Rane approved replacement.
Chassis ground point: A #6-32 screw used for chassis grounding purposes. See the note below.
Manual-4
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
Now it is knob twisting time! Power up the system in the
normal fashion, always turning on the power amplifiers last.
It is good practice to start at the head of the system, turning
on any sound sources and mixers first, equalization devices
next, and finally power amplifiers. Following this power-up
sequence minimizes the change of high gain stage turn-on
transients finding their way to the loudspeakers.
Going from left-to-right along the front panel, make the
following initial settings:
Slide both GAIN controls all the way to the top.
Slide both FILTER controls all the way to the bottom.
Set the five LEVEL controls to their center detents.
Disengage all (6) BYPASS pushbuttons (out, LEDs off).
Check that the POWER LED is lit.
With either a canned or live source applied, observe the
OL (OverLoad) light (located at the extreme left-hand side of
the front panel) for a few moments to see if it lights occasion-
ally, or all the time. If the OL light stays lit most of the time,
then slide both sliders (grasp together) down just enough for
the lights to only light every so often. This is the proper
setting for the best signal-to-noise performance.
Now you are ready to make some adjustments.
PE 17s often find themselves in recording studios, but
some get used for room equalization. A detailed discussion
lies outside the scope of this manual; however, a few words
can’t hurt.
Experienced sound people almost always use some sort of
realtime analyzer (RTA) as an aid in setting equalization. An
RTA allows you to see the frequency response changes as you
do them. This is invaluable in achieving quality sound.
As a notch filter, the PE 17 works very well in increasing
system headroom by attenuating system peaks that create
feedback problems. The obvious goal in notching is to
remove only the problem areas and nothing else. With this in
mind, it is always a good idea to first try to notch out feed-
back with the BANDWIDTH controls set to their full counter-
clockwise positions. The acoustic resonance points causing
feedback are generally so narrow that a filter bandwidth set at
.03 octave easily cures the problem. To chase down the
feedback frequency, start with the filter LEVEL control set to
its full -15 dB position. With the BW still set to minimum,
tune the FREQ control until the feedback goes away. It
shouldn’t take too much fine tuning to find the center of the
resonance. Once you have achieved stability, advance the
system level until feedback starts to reappear, then back it
down slightly. If a -15 dB cut won’t cure the problem, the
resonance is extreme and must be dealt with in other ways.
For example, move the speakers or the mics; hang some
drapes; move some walls; burn down the building; or simply
unplug the system and go home—something must give!
PE 17 CONNECTION
The PE 17 is compatible with all line-level (-10 dBV and
+4 dBu) interfaces and products. However, you must amplify
microphones and other mic-level products before connecting
them to the PE 17.
The proper connection of this unit to a system is a
relatively simple matter, the specifics of which may vary
greatly depending on the application. Use a PE 17 anywhere
line-level frequency contouring is required. This includes live
sound reinforcement systems, recording studios, dance clubs, etc.
For live or recorded sound systems the most common
location to insert a parametric equalizer is immediately
preceding the active crossover or power amplifier. This
provides the means to correct loudspeaker deficiencies
required in any system for high quality reproduction. Many
systems employ both a graphic and parametric equalizer
connected in series. The graphic finds use in personal
preference or program equalization, while the parametric
helps with sources, loudspeaker compensation and feedback
control. In these situations, the order of placement is not
critical, however the PE 17 does feature servo cross-coupled
balanced Outputs which allows use in installations requiring
very long cable runs between the equalizers and the power
amplifiers or crossovers.
The ¼" TRS and XLR Input connectors are wired in
parallel and are actively balanced. These Inputs are provided
primarily to give the user a choice between two types of
connectors. They will not function as a summing type of input
for two different sources. For further information on this
subject, please consult the RaneNote, “Why Not Wye?”. The
two Inputs may be used in a daisy chain application where the
Input to the PE 17 also must feed another piece of equipment.
The Outputs of the PE 17 offer the same connector choice.
They also are wired in parallel and are actively balanced.
However, both Outputs may be used simultaneously if
desired.
All XLR connectors used by Rane are wired per the IEC/
ANSI/AES standard as follows: pin 2 positive, pin 3 negative
and pin 1 chassis ground. Unbalanced use of a PE 17 is not
recommended. See the “Sound System Interconnection”
RaneNote inlcuded in this manual.
103051
©Rane Corporation 10802 47th Ave. W., Mukilteo WA 98275-5098 TEL (425)355-6000 FAX (425)347-7757 WEB http://www.rane.com
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